CSE Conclave - Our Right to Clean Air: Enabling city action for clean air

April 22, 2016

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is organising a Conclave - Our Right to Clean Air: Enabling city action plan for clean air on April 19-20, 2016 at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. It will focus on the multi-faceted, complex and layered issue of de-risking poor world from killer air pollution. The conclave is part of our efforts to ensure in-depth discussions and most importantly to bring together different voices, from diverse (and most often) unconnected communities on a common platform. It will bring together regulators, academicians, civil society groups, media and other stakeholders from India as well as other parts of the world.

CSE’s Right To Clean Air Campaign was initiated 20 years ago. Since then there have been many wins and also challenges. It is time to take stock and refocus action, under the newer challenges of meeting the clean air and public health target. The poor world has to speed up its transition to minimise public health impacts of its rapid growth. But the developing world will have to do this differently. They need leapfrog strategy that is affordable, scalable, inclusive and inventive.

Asia and Africa cannot remain conventional in their method and practice – or spread action incrementally. The world is shifting the problem around. Advanced countries that have shown progress in reducing air pollution are facing newer challenges; the developing world still struggling harder to contain and reduce it. They need capacity to assess and to act to reduce risks. There is a need to build institutions and strengthen public policy to move beyond standards setting to real world performance to deliver on clean air and health targets; build community and public agenda for action; and shift people towards sustainable alternatives. This will require a change in policy mindset in developing world that must think in leaps and not steps. The issue to deliberate will be the national roadmaps for intervention in key areas of mitigation and to see if these are sufficient or if we need transformational approaches.